Originally posted by drwizardphd

Originally posted by liveandlearn


My mom had a heart attach without insurance and was hospitalized 5 days. It took her 3 years to pay it off but she did and she lived on SS.

And if we had a better system, such as the NHS, she wouldn't have had to pay it off and could have had a considerably higher quality of life for those 3 years, especially considering she wouldn't have been stressed over the payments. Stress should always be avoided if you recently suffered cardiac arrest.

I imagine the lack of stress over making medical payments is just one of the factors that contributes to the UK's higher life expectancy and better quality of life.

I don't know. It just seems so obvious to me...

This is the thing. People in the UK don't even think about paying for anything, it's taken for granted that you will be treated at all costs, not to mention all the other care provided, like free occupational therapy, physiotherapy, counselling etc etc. All provided to help people get back to normal. Not leave them worrying if they can pay for the treatment.

Why do Americans continue to bash the problematic NHS and compare their future health care to it? Why don't they compare their health service to the French public/private system which seems to be closer to what it is the Americans seem to be attempting to achieve? Is it because they know in their hearts that they are incapable of achieving the excellence of the French system, so need to pick a not so brilliant example to more accurately reflect their abilities in health care? Sure looks that way to me.

The United States will never fix itself as long as we continue to see the levels of personal greed and lack of social responsibility displayed in threads like these. Is it any wonder the country is going down the pan. For all their lip service, they are all alike and nothing will change.

Whats the deal with with everyone ranting on about the NHS?

Over the 29 years i've lived on this rock i have had one of my testes untwisted and stiched back into place after recieving a nather nasty kick to them, years later a sack of fluid removed from around it that had develolped, my tonsils and adenoids removed, I have had MRI to check my pituruy gland, had a nasty hot oil related burn taken care of, had a 4 inch nail removed from my arm, had exploded test tube removed from my foot after a failed chemistry experiment and injuries from a car crash taken care of. I have had countless medicines and vaccines for various ailments and illnesses. My grandfather had chemotherapy for cancer, my mum has just had her shoulder corrected, my dad has had similiar to his elbow. There is lots more I could mention, but i wont.

How much has all this cost under the NHS, 100 quid? 1000 quid? 10,000 quid?? nope its cost absolutley bugger all, on some cases they have even re-imbursed travel expenses. The NHS is a wonderful system and should be praised. (and i'm not biased because my mum is a nurse in the NHS, lol)

Once again, the NHS gets bashed, as if it would be so much worse thn the greatness of the existing American Corporate controlled sick care system. But the facts show that we could do much worse, in fact we already are.

2007 Statistics:

UK: Infant deaths per 1000 births...... 5
US: Infant deaths per 1000 births...... 6.4

UK life expectancy: 78.6 years
US life expectancy: 78 years

So, if the UK based NHS is so "bad for America", why is it that an infant has a better chance of surviving their births, and living longer in the UK than in the US?